Manual knitting-apparatus



1958 M. LEHNER-STIRNEMANN 2,847,839

MANUAL KNITTING-APPARATUS Filed June 10, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l IA/VE/VTUR: MM LEH/VER- ST/R/VEMH/VA/ 9, 1958 M. LEHNER-STIRNEMANN 2,847,839

MANUAL KNITTING-APPARATUS Filed June 10. 1954 2 Shets-Sheet 2 United States Patent MANUAL KNITTING-APPARATUS Max Lehner-Stirnemann,*Granichen, Switzerland Application June '10, 1954, No. 435,900

Claims priority, application Switzerland June '11, 1953 14 Claims. (CI. '6660) My present invention relates to a manually operated knitting-apparatus comprising a slider for actuating knitting needles arranged in a plane and being distinguished by the provision of at least one freely rotatable body mounted on said slider below the plane of the needles, said body resiliently engaging the needle-bed front surface, parallel to the direction of movement, of the slider from below.

One form of the invention, together with various modifications thereof, is shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side view, partly in section, of the apparatus which is equipped with latch needles,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus with two freely rotatable bodies of revolution,

Figs. 3 and 4 depict a modification of the bearing body, Fig. 3 being a top plan view, and Fig. 4 being a section on the line IV--IV of Fig. 3,

Figs. 5 to 9 illustrate possible modified profiles of the needle-bed front surface, and

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the apparatus with one freely rotatable body of revolution.

All the parts and portions irrelevant for the invention have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of clarity.

In a needle bed 1, Figs. 1 and 2, are disposed in a plane the longitudinally movable latch needles 2. The front surface 3 of needle bed 1 is inclined towards the rear from top to bottom, so that the lower edge forms an obtuse angle. Stiff wire rods 20 are fixedly arranged to extend upwardly between the needles. The slider 4 has incorporated in it a mechanism not represented and Well known, which serves for moving the needles to and fro. But numeral 5 designates braces fixed to the slider 4, for the two freely rotatable rubber discs 6 and 6; numeral 7 designates a work-inclining plate fixedly mounted to the braces. The rubber discs 6 and 6 are so disposed below the needle plane that they resiliently engage from below the front surface 3 of needle bed 1. The two rubber discs 6 and 6, of course, are symmetrically disposed with respect to the plane of symmetry 13 of slider 4.

The mode of operation of the arrangement described is as follows:

When moving the slider 4 in the direction of the arrow 14, the ware suspended by its uppermost row of stitches 15 from the needles 2 is loosely held against the front surface 3 of needle bed 1 by plate 7, until it is clamped between the first disc 6 and the front surface 3 and is drawn downwardly, as the disc partially slides and partially rolls on said surface when the slider is moved. Whilst, now, at the same time, the needles 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d are pushed forwardly by the aforementioned mechanism incorporated in the slider, the retained loops open the latches 2 and subsequently glide over the same towards the rear of the needles 2d and 2c, so that a fresh thread may be inserted into the foremost hooked portions of the advanced needles 2f-2 l by a thread guide 8. When 2,847,839 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 rods 20 to give the thread a zig-zag form. Theloops "15 clampe'dly engaged by "the second 'disc,-'6, again close the needle latches 2 an'dthenisdrawn offovertlre closed latches of the retracted needles 2 k, "21.

Since the slider and its needle actuating mechanism have a common plane, 13, of symmetry passing through a thread guide 8 through which the thread 16 moves and standing at right angles to the direction of movement of the slider, the latter operates in the same way and manner in both directions of movement, which are indicated by the arrows 14 and 21. It is readily possible to provide only one disc in place of two, which single disc would be correspondingly larger and so disposed that its axis of rotation is situated in said plane of symmetry 13.

In place of rubber discs, bodies may be used which comprise an elastically yieldable rim, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. In the latter, a ring 9 through springs 10 is connected to a sleeve 12 which is freely rotatable about an axle 11.

In place of discs, rollers may be used of which the peripheral surfaces are urged against the needle-bed underside. Said rollers or discs do not necessarily have to be made of rubber, or otherwise be made elastically resilient, it sufiices when they are correspondingly elastically mounted.

As mentioned above, the front surface of the needle bed preferably is so shaped that its lower edge forms an obtuse angle with the bottom face, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7. Said front surface could, in an alternative form, he perpendicular to said bottom surface, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8, or be rounded or convex as shown in Fig. 6. It further is possible to provide the front surface 3 with suitable concave surfaces 18 or 19 (Figs. 7 and 8). It is also possible to undercut the front of the needle bed as shown in Fig. 9. In any case the body or bodies 6 or 6 should resiliently bear in such a manner onto the front surface 3 that the ware is drawn downwardly.

Fig. 10 shows an embodiment of the inventive apparatus in which only one rotatable body 6 is provided. The same reference numerals as in Fig. 2 have been used.

Whatl claim is:

1. In a manual knitting apparatus comprising a needle bed having a front surface, a plane row of knitting needles disposed on said needle-bed, a slider for actuating said needles to and fro, the improvement defined by mounting on said slider at least one freely rotatable body of revolution disposed below the plane of the row of needles, said body resiliently engaging said front surface.

2. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the said front surface is perpendicular to the plane of the row of needles.

3. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the said front surface is at least partially concave.

4. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the said front surface is convex.

5. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the front of the needle bed is undercut.

6.- A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the said front surface is inclined rearwardly towards the bottom.

7. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1 and comprising a symmetrically disposed needle-actuating mechanism in which said body also in symmetrically disposed with reference to the plane of symmetry of this mechanism.

8. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 7, in which are provided two of said bodies of revolution.

9. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the freely rotatable body is formed as a roller which through a portion of its peripheral face engages said front surface.

10. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which the freely rotatable body is formed as a disc which through a portion of its upper face engages said front surface.

11. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 10, in which said disc has a flexible rim.

12. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 11, in 10 which the disc is a rubber disc.

4 13. A knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, in which there is a resilient support on which the body is mounted. 14. In a knitting apparatus as set out in claim 1, means supported by the slider, for holding the knitted ware before the latter is clampedly engaged between said body and said front surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,670,618 Von Skene et al.. Mar. 2, 1954 

